Jeff Koons’ dog balloon sculpture
“Please do not touch”: every now and then, we are reminded why these signs are still needed in galleries around the world, and not just for Israelis. Art lovers in Miami watched in horror Thursday night when a visitor accidentally knocked a $42,000 sculpture by American pop artist Jeff Koons to the floor.
She tapped him with her finger, witnesses said at the event. The sculpture – one of Koons’ iconic dog balloons – shattered into tiny pieces, and gallery staff had to sweep it away. The accident happened during the exclusive VIP-only opening night of Art Wynwood, an annual contemporary art fair in Miami, Florida.
Local artist Stephen Gamson was just telling the Miami Herald that he was admiring the statue, when a woman tapped it and knocked it off its pedestal. At first he wondered if it was part of a performance piece, but quickly realized it was an accident.
????| NEW: Jeff Koons’ $42,000 dog sculpture was broken at art fair after woman tapped it to see if it was a balloon‼️???? pic.twitter.com/ZEFvRyvfFt
— Pubity (@PubityIG) February 18, 2023
“When that thing hit the ground, it was like a car crash pulling a huge crowd on the motorway,” Mr Gamson told the newspaper. Fortunately for the woman, the piece is covered by insurance, said Benedict Kalloch, an art consultant at Art Galleries of Bel-Air, which represents the sculpture.
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“Life just stopped for 15 minutes with everyone around,” Cedric Burrow, who also works at Bel-Air art galleries, told the New York Times. He added that a colleague spoke to the woman, who said she was “very, very sorry” and “just wanted to disappear.”
Collector smashes $42,000 sculpture at Art Wynwood in Miami – Daily Mail
The girl decided to check if the work of Jeff Koons “Balloon Dog” really matches the name, and hit it. Shards scattered all over the hall, because it was made of blue porcelain. pic.twitter.com/LHyKElBpLQ
— Sebastian Pereiro ???????????????????? (@stringerukraine) February 18, 2023
The statue was part of a limited edition that has now shrunk from 799 to 798 statues. “It’s a good thing for the collectors,” Mr Borrow told The Times, laughing. Despite being smashed into thousands of pieces, there is still interest in buying the ruined statue. Mr. Gamson offered to buy it there because “it has a really cool story.”
Sculptor Jeff Koons has not commented on the incident.
In 2019 Koons made history when his rabbit sculpture sold at auction for $91.1m (£71m) – the highest ever sale price for a living artist.
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